


Emptiness

by SasuNarufan13



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: A LOT of Angst, AU, Drama, M/M, Mentioned violence, Rather dark fic, Slash, Teddy's pov mainly, implied prostitution
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-30
Updated: 2013-08-30
Packaged: 2017-12-25 02:56:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/947791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SasuNarufan13/pseuds/SasuNarufan13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After meeting his godfather again in the hospital, Teddy starts to remember the moments where it all went wrong between him and Harry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Emptiness

**Author's Note:**

> I still don't know how I came up with this fic. It's not a particularly happy one and it has more angst than fluff (though the ending will be lighter than most of the story), but it wouldn't leave me alone until I had written it.
> 
> Please pay attention to the warnings in the tags.
> 
> Also this one is also edited by myself, so I apologize for any mistakes left behind
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling owns it

**Emptiness**

"It's been busy tonight," Emelia sighed exhausted and dropped down on the only comfortable couch in the break room.

Twenty four year old Teddy Lupin smiled indulgently and took a sip of his lukewarm coffee. He was studying to be a doctor and was currently in his last year, working as an assistant doctor in the hospital. The hospital was co-owned by the university where Teddy attended as a student.

His shift lasted another half hour and then he needed to work on his paper. A glance at the round clock, hanging above the door, showed him it was half past seven.

"The day is almost over," Teddy answered soothingly and placed his cup in the sink.

Light brown eyes glared at him. "For you, yeah, but my shift only ends at one in the morning," she complained.

"Tough for you," he replied lightly and ducked out of the room in time to avoid being pelted by a pillow.

Chuckling, he made his way to the check in counter to see if he could diagnose a patient.

"Do you have a patient for me?" he inquired the elderly, grey haired woman who had taken on the mother role in his department.

Maria rolled her eyes. "You can't be human with the amount of patients you take on," she muttered, but started to look through the dossiers lying on the desk.

He grinned cheekily and rested his elbows on the desk. "I'm perfect, I know." He ducked away when a clipboard went up to whack him.

She huffed. "Careful, Mister Lupin, or I will rearrange that so called perfection of yours," she threatened, but handed over a green clipboard. "Here's one; thirty nine year old man, an open wound on his forehead and a possible wrist fracture. He's in room forty seven."

Teddy thanked her and made his way to his new patient. He probably needed to sew the wound shut and put a cast around the wrist to prevent it from getting worse.

Nothing too difficult, if the patient hadn't hidden other wounds; that had happened before.

He was still studying the description of the wounds, having absently skipped over the name and address, when he opened the door to the examination room. "Good evening, sir. I'm your doctor for tonight," he greeted, but came to an abrupt halt when he caught sight of the patient.

Green eyes, looking dull at first, gained a nervous glint. "He-Hello, Teddy, long time no see." Chapped lips tried to smile, but didn't succeed and instead trembled.

Silently Teddy took in the appearance of the man he hadn't seen since he was fifteen. He hadn't changed that much; he was still very lean, bordering on slender with a pale pallor. His black hair was as wild as ever and aside from some tiny wrinkles next to his eyes, he didn't look his age and looked as young as Teddy could remember. He was dressed in a too large dark sweater, too sophisticated to have come from his own wardrobe, and a pair of jeans that were ripped around his knees. Black Nike sneakers adorned his feet.

"Who brought you here?" he asked coldly and put the clipboard down on the metal cabinet.

The man seemed to swallow. "Draco did," he muttered softly and looked away, as if he was ashamed to look the assistant doctor in the eyes.

_Which he probably was_ , a poisonous voice chimed in his head.

"Did he leave you here on your own?"

Translation: you better don't tell me you're stuck here with no ride back.

The older man licked his lips and fidgeted a bit with his fingers which were more slender than Teddy could remember them being. "He said he had to pick up some documents, but he would drive me back."

Translation: don't worry, I won't bother you for long.

"How did this happen?" As soon as the question left his mouth, he shook his head. "No, never mind. I don't care. I can already imagine what happened," he sneered and he could feel his heart speed up a bit in response to his building anger.

"I-I didn't mean to come here." Large green eyes stared at him, pleading him to understand, while he continued in a small voice. "I told Draco it wasn't necessary to bring me here, but he wouldn't listen to me."

Teddy snorted and the other winced. "Doesn't shock me. It's not like you're in a position to make people listen to you," he retorted sharply.

"Listen, I know I screwed up; I made a total mess of everything. I know that." Suddenly it seemed as if a dam broke and the words kept flowing out of the man's mouth. "But I've gotten better since you left. I-I'm working part time at Draco's office and I've cut down my hours. I barely do it anymore." He looked up, a twinge of hope seeming to build up somewhere in him. "May-maybe we could get together some time to talk?" He didn't seem to notice how the blood from his wound kept sluggishly dripping down his face or how swollen his wrist was.

"Problem with you, Harry, is that you always make promises, but you never manage to keep them," Teddy replied icily and with that destroyed the tiny sliver of hope that Harry Potter had managed to build up over the years.

* * *

Frustrated Teddy threw himself down on his bed, after having thrown his bag somewhere on the floor. He breathed heavily and pulled on his hair, the sting making him hiss. God damn it all.

He stared at the immaculate white ceiling and tried to calm himself down. It wouldn't do to get worked up with no means of releasing his pent up anger.

After their short conversation, Teddy had fled the room and had asked Emelia if she would cover for him. She had given him a searching look, but had taken over without asking any questions, though he was sure those must have been burning on her tongue.

He had escaped the hospital a few minutes later and had been on time to catch his bus. He had thought he had seen a blond man stepping out of a Mercedes in front of the hospital but in his rush, he hadn't looked closely. Now he wondered if it had been Draco, who had to come pick up his godfather.

_His godfather._

The man who had raised him since he was one years old, after his parents died in a car accident. Harry's parents had died in a plane crash and he had been shipped off to his family on mother's side. The older man had never told him much about it, only that he had gotten tired of the place and had been taken in by Teddy's father, because his own godfather was in prison for attempted murder and possession of drugs.

Harry had been appointed his godfather even though he was only fifteen at the time of his birth. One year later, his parents died in a car crash and Harry had somehow managed to convince Child Services that he was fit to care for a baby, even at his young age.

Teddy snorted cynically. Yeah, fit. He and Harry had different opinions about what constituted being fit to raise a child.

He remembered the first time he realized that his godfather didn't have a normal job like all the other parents of children in his class.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Flashback_

Seven year old Teddy skipped towards his house where he lived with his godfather. His small, dark blue backpack with a picture of Superman on it was thumping softly against his back on the rhythm of his steps. He ran up the four steps that lead towards the front door and fumbled for a moment with the knob until the door finally swung open.

Smiling proudly, he dropped his backpack on the floor and looked around. His godfather didn't seem to be in the living room nor the kitchen and not in the backyard, which left him upstairs to check.

He carefully took the stairs, remembering the scolding he had gotten when he had run up the stairs once and had bruised his knee when he had stumbled and hit a step.

"Uncle Harry?" he called out curiously and almost jumped two feet in the air, when he heard someone stumbling in Harry's bedroom. He heard hushed voices whispering something urgently and he cocked his head. He didn't know they would get visitors.

For as long as he could remember they were only visited by a nice, blonde lady with pretty blue eyes who always brought a stone for him. Was she here now? Why was she in Harry's bedroom? Maybe she was bringing him his work like she apparently always did. His godfather never seemed to have to leave for work and stayed home, explaining that he worked while he was home.

He stared when the door finally swung open and his eyes widened when an unknown blond man stepped outside, his clear, grey eyes focusing on the small boy. He had a business suit on and a small, black suitcase in his right hand.

"Didn't know you have a kid," the man murmured and he smirked, seemingly finding something amusing about the situation.

Finally Harry came out of the room too and he had flushed cheeks, a bathrobe hiding his naked state from his godson. "He-he's my godson," he replied flustered.

The blond turned around to face Harry and in doing so prevented Teddy from seeing his face. He could hear the stranger mumbling something to his godfather, to which the black haired man shook his head and his eyes looked down, his teeth worrying his lower lip.

The blond stranger straightened his back and after waving to the little, dumbstruck boy, he calmly descended from the stairs, as if he was used to it and left the house. Three minutes later, Teddy could hear a car departing.

"Uncle Harry?" Teddy cocked his head to the left and stared at him questioningly. Who was that guy?

Harry raised a trembling hand and stroke through his hair, giving his godson a weak smile. "That was a … friend of mine," he replied hesitatingly. He immediately changed the subject. "So what have you done today at school?"

_End flashback_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

At that time, Teddy hadn't thought anything strange of it. He had assumed the blond stranger, who later turned out to be Draco Malfoy, was indeed just a friend of Harry, who had dropped by to give him some work. It hadn't occurred to his seven year old mind then, how strange it was to have work delivered in a bedroom or why Harry never had any friends over at their house – the house they had inherited when Teddy's parents died. He assumed Harry was still living in that house.

He sighed and sat up, leaning forwards with his elbows on his thighs. Nine years he hadn't seen his godfather and now he suddenly popped up again. It made him confused. He was still disgusted by what his godfather did, was still furious at him for letting him be placed in a foster family, but he was also curious and sad. He and his godfather had had a close bond that had abruptly ended when Teddy had discovered him in a pool of his own blood.

He wanted to believe that Harry had indeed made changes in his life, that he wasn't selling his body anymore, but it was so hard to believe that when all he could think about was that Harry had been lying to him for years about his profession. He was more hurt by the betrayal of Harry lying to him than what Harry did to get money.

He stood up and went to his kitchen to brew some tea. Maybe that would clear his mind and help him analyse the situation. The chance that he would see Harry again after today was small, considering how long it had taken them to meet each other again. He had been placed in a foster family fifty miles from Harry and had started his studies in a town ten miles from his foster family. He rented the apartment in the town of his university because that made things easier on him – and because he didn't want to meet anyone from his past.

And now everything was in shambles. Why had Draco brought Harry to a hospital so far from his hometown? There were hospitals closer to Harry's home. Had the blond businessman known where he did his apprentice? Why should it have mattered to him?

Teddy was utterly confused, though that was a familiar feeling when it came to Draco Malfoy. Absently he poured the hot water in his cup and immediately afterwards, the fresh, soothing aroma of the bergamot tea filled his nose. He took his cup with him to the comfortable armchair and sat down, sipping carefully from the scalding hot tea, thinking back at all those moments he had been in the blond's presence; the blond man who was still as mysterious as he had been when he had first saw him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Flashback_

Eight year old Teddy shivered and broke out in a run; his feet, clad in sneakers, dashing through the puddles, making the water splash up. Rain was pouring from the sky and his wet clothes clung uncomfortably to his skin, the raindrops battering on the naked skin they found. He shook his head and drops went flying. He sneezed a bit and hoped that he wouldn't catch a cold. Lying in bed sick was fun, because he didn't have to go to school then, but he had to take that awful medicine then, which took all the fun away of skipping a day of school.

His hands, red from the cold, fumbled with the house key and finally put it in the lock, hastily turning it around so that he could enter the warm house.

He sighed in relief when the warm air hit his skin and his bag was unceremoniously dropped on the floor.

Footsteps came towards him and he looked up, seeing his godfather with a small smile on his face.

"Oh dear, you look like a drowned cat," Uncle Harry chuckled.

Teddy pouted. "'S not funny," he mumbled and shivered.

"Go take a shower upstairs. I'll make some hot chocolate for you."

Teddy cheered at the prospect of having warm chocolate and dashed upstairs, impatiently throwing his wet clothes in the hamper before closing the bathroom door behind him.

He hummed during the shower and absently scrubbed his body with some soap, intent on enjoying the warm water. The shower warmed him back up and after towelling himself dry, he wrapped a long towel around him and shuffled towards his room.

After sorting through his clothes, he chose grey jogging pants and a black hoodie. He hastily towelled his hair as dry as he could manage for the moment and then made his way back downstairs.

When he entered the bright kitchen however, he froze and stood still in the doorway. A familiar blond man was seated at the kitchen table, a cup with tea in front of him. His grey eyes, that had been following Harry's progress through the kitchen, darted towards him once his presence was noted and a smirk danced on the blond's face.

"Looks like the squirt is home." He sounded amused and took a sip of his warm beverage.

The dark haired man turned around to frown at him. "Don't call him that," he admonished him gently and then turned to face his godson. "Take a seat, Teddy, I have your hot chocolate here."

The young boy glanced at the stranger, who he had been seeing a few times in the house, warily before he took a seat on the opposite end of the table.

"I think it's time I introduce myself," the blond suddenly said and stuck out his hand. "Hello, I'm Draco Malfoy."

After casting a look at his godfather, who nodded encouragingly at him, he shyly took the offered hand and shook it. "Hello, I'm Teddy Lupin. Nice to meet you," he muttered.

"Good to know you raised him to have good manners," Mister Malfoy murmured with a smirk.

Harry frowned at him, but didn't retort back. "Here's your chocolate." He placed a bright yellow mug in front of Teddy, who quickly took a sip of it.

"Are you a friend of uncle Harry?" Teddy asked, when some minutes had passed in silence.

He noticed how his godfather seemed to freeze and he furrowed his eyebrows. Had he asked something wrong?

Draco tilted his head a bit and his grey eyes glittered in hidden amusement. Why he was amused at the question, the boy didn't understand. "Hm, you could say that. If you want, you can call me Uncle Draco. We will be seeing each other a lot, after all."

The two adults shared a weird look and Teddy blinked but shrugged. He didn't have an uncle, aside from Harry, as far as he knew, so getting one now would be fun he supposed.

"Does that mean you'll be here for Christmas?" he asked after a thought had popped up in his mind. He and his godfather always were alone on Christmas and while he didn't mind that, because it meant a lot of presents for him, he thought it would be nice to have someone here as well.

Draco chuckled. "That depends on whether your godfather wants me here or not."

Harry scowled at him and then looked away. "It's not like you would listen to me anyway," he answered and Teddy was bewildered at the bitter tone he heard.

The other man shrugged. "I don't know if you have visitors over during the holidays or not," he said and one corner of his mouth curled up in a mocking half sneer.

Teddy had a feeling they were talking about something he didn't understand. It was as if Draco said one thing, but meant something entirely else and that confused the eight year old.

Harry's hand clenched around the mug he had and his jaw tightened. "I don't have visitors over during the holidays because I want to give Teddy my full attention," he finally replied coldly. "But if you want, you can come over."

"How generous of you," Draco smirked. "I'll make sure to have some great _gifts_ for you two."

Emerald green eyes closed in resignation and Teddy was left with the feeling that something was amiss.

* * *

Slowly, young Teddy began to realize that something strange was going on in their house when he wasn't there or asleep.

On one of such instances, which occurred occasionally, he was awoken in the middle of the night by a loud thump in his godfather's bedroom. His eyes shot open in the dark and his heart started beating very fast in response to his fear. He forced himself to take deep breaths and then slowly slid out of his bed and pulled on his slippers. Feeling around for the edge of his nightstand, he passed by it without bumping against it and then trailed his hand across the wall to feel for the door.

His hand slid across the raised frame of the doorpost and silently he opened the door. He blinked when he entered the hallway that was lit by the weak moonlight and stood still.

He nearly jumped when he heard a loud moan coming from Harry's bedroom and he stood there uncertainly. What was he supposed to do? Was his godfather in pain? Did he need help?

"God, you feel amazing." A strange, deep, gruff voice suddenly came through the closed door and Teddy's eyes widened. Who was there? Was it a friend of Uncle Harry? But why would he invite them here when it was so late? Was it Uncle Draco? No, Uncle Draco had a smoother voice, a gentler one.

The young boy shuffled a bit closer to Harry's bedroom. What was he supposed to do now? Was Harry in trouble?

"Keep your voice down," Uncle Harry suddenly hissed. "My godson is asleep."

The unknown man chuckled darkly. "Guess it's true what they say about people like you; you really have no shame at all."

Biting his lip, Teddy hurried back into his room and closed the door, almost diving back into his bed. His heartbeat thudded loudly in his ears and his breathing was erratic. He didn't know what exactly he had just heard, but whatever it was, he didn't like it.

* * *

A few nights after that particular incident – of which he hadn't spoken about to his godfather, because he didn't have the courage – Teddy began to notice how Harry would appear occasionally with bruises on his arms and legs, sometimes even on his face. Other times there were light scratches as if a cat had been pissed off and had hurt him in retaliation.

After each inquiry of Teddy, his godfather just patiently smiled and told him one excuse after the other: he had bumped into his desk the other day; he had tripped over the rug in the hallway and his arm had slammed against the doorframe; he had scratched himself in his sleep … The excuses were endless and in retrospect, Teddy should have realized that something was amiss with Harry's injuries. But being a child back then, he accepted the excuses and just told his godfather over and over again to be more careful to which Harry would laugh and ruffle his hair.

Draco had been visiting the house more often as well. He was there every week, usually a few days, but never scheduled. There were times when Teddy would sneak down the stairs to grab a glass of water and he would hear the two adults speaking in low voices, Harry sounding apologetic and with a small voice, while Draco often replied coolly and sometimes even angrily.

Teddy had given up on wondering what kind of relationship those two had exactly and was just worried if there would be a day when Draco would disappear from their lives. He rather liked the blond, though he could be very annoying and incredibly arrogant at times. Still, the blond sometimes helped him with his homework when he arrived early and he often brought presents with him, spoiling the young boy.

* * *

When Teddy turned eleven, Harry disappeared sometimes for a whole evening, and his godson would be babysat by a friendly neighbour who didn't mind watching after him. Harry would often arrive home very late, mostly after midnight and he was always dropped off by strange men.

It was during that time that Harry seemed to earn more money, because Teddy would often get expensive stuff, like a PlayStation or designer clothes. Harry didn't seem to care about himself, but Teddy only had to mention absently that he liked a certain gadget and more often than not, that particular item would be added to his belongings a few weeks later.

Teddy had often protested about that, knowing how much money problems his godfather had had in the past, but Harry had assured him it wasn't a problem, that he liked spoiling his godson now that he finally had the chance.

However, in order to afford all that expensive stuff, Harry often went out for three to four nights every week, every time returning very late. Sometimes Teddy stayed up long enough to witness Harry's return and while his godfather often had a weird limp when he made his way to the house, sometimes he seemed to be in pain, holding his stomach or a wrist. However, once morning came and Teddy woke up, there would be no trace of pain left on his godfather's face and the boy was left wondering if he had all just imagined it.

* * *

When Teddy reached his thirteenth birthday, things slowly started to turn sour between him and his godfather. Teddy was able to go to the expensive high school Hogwarts, a place where only elite students and people with a lot of money could enter, a fact which had surprised him immensely because the fee to enter was incredibly high, not to mention the costs of the books. While he had been an outcast at first, because he didn't come from a prestige family nor was rich, eventually he made some friends once people got to know him better.

It made him happy of course, because he had never had much friends. He should have been happy, considering he had near perfect grades and was popular in his class, but his life at home was a whole other matter.

Because the fee was so high, Harry had to work even harder to afford everything Teddy needed and more often than not, had to leave the teenager alone in the house, relying on the neighbours to take care of him.

At first Teddy had been understanding – after all, he had seen the bills his godfather received, but slowly his understanding turned into impatience and impatience turned into anger.

His godfather was almost never at home anymore. He only saw him fleetingly during the morning and sometimes, if he was lucky, during the evening as well, but mostly he came home to find one of his neighbours with an apologetic look on their face, knowing how much it hurt the boy to be left alone.

It was during that time that Harry also couldn't keep his promises anymore because he was always away from home. Promises to go out were either forgotten or postponed for the nth time; teacher conferences had to be attended by a neighbour because the older man couldn't make it on time; concerts (Teddy had taken to learn how to play piano and had discovered to his pleasure that he was quite good in it, which led to him joining the music club at school that often organized concerts at the end of every semester) were only sporadically attended, leaving Teddy in the cold, while he had to watch how his friends got congratulated by their parents and he had to be satisfied with a pat on the back from the teacher and a hug of a neighbour.

Maybe if Draco had been visiting their house like he used to, Teddy wouldn't have felt that lonely. But the blond businessman only visited the house once a month now, seeming to avoid it now that Harry was almost never home.

The few evenings he could spend with his godfather had a strained, awkward feeling to them; both trying to hold on to their once close bond, but both knowing that things in their lives were ripping them apart.

_End flashback._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Teddy stared broodily outside, watching how rain drops hit the window and then slid down the glass. People outside were hurrying towards their destination, their faces hidden by umbrellas or heads, everyone seeking shelter from the beating rain.

The rain reminded him of the day when everything finally exploded, the day when he was brought to his foster family; the day that would lead to him not seeing Harry for years. The day that he had started hating Harry for what he was…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Flashback_

Fifteen year old Teddy Lupin cursed underneath his breath and after throwing one last glare at the parking, he grabbed his bag from the bank he was sitting on and hurried of the school domain, his hoodie getting soaked by the heavy rain, making him curse again for not having an umbrella.

_That asshole!_ Why the hell hadn't he shown up like he promised to? And why the hell was he still clinging on to the hope that he would keep his promises? He should have known he would be left stranded and that there would be no one coming to pick him up.

His mood, already bad from having to race home through the pouring rain, soured even more when he noticed the small car standing in front of their house. So he was home. Shit, this time he wouldn't stay quiet anymore. He had enough of his bullshit.

Storming into the house, he slammed the door behind him, throwing his bag on the floor, not caring where it landed and peeled his jacket off. He would probably complain that the carpet would get dirty, but he didn't give one shit about that.

Narrowing his eyes, he stalked from one room to the other, concluding after his last stop downstairs, that his godfather was somewhere upstairs.

He knew he was home; if the car (bought a few years back) hadn't been enough of an indication, the jeans jacket and the wallet on the kitchen table were enough proof.

He stormed upstairs and after checking the bathroom, the study and his room, he growled and stomped towards Harry's bedroom. God help the man if he was sleeping!

He threw the door open, not knocking – he didn't deserve that courtesy anymore – and opened his mouth to yell, when he stiffened, his eyes widening horrified when his brain finally comprehended the information it received.

The nightstand had been thrown to the floor; glass with some amber coloured liquid in it, was lying shattered on the floor, staining the white carpet. The bed sheets were almost ripped off the bed, the pillows discarded against the wall. A small stain, coloured a rusty brown marked the pristine white sheets.

Slowly Teddy entered the room fully, his mind blank. He turned around and screamed horrified when his eyes encountered something he had only seen in his nightmares when he was younger.

Harry was here alright. But he wasn't sleeping. He was lying on his back on the wooden floor; his chest naked and full with dark blue bruises, staining his pale skin like a macabre piece of art; his jeans were undone but still around his hips; his emerald green eyes stared right into scared brown ones, but they didn't see anything. His mouth was stained red, but that wasn't the worst of it. Surrounding his head, wetting his hair, gleaming in the stark light of the TL lights, was a large pool of blood. A lifeless left hand laid next his head and was stained red by his own blood. His neck had purple bruises as if someone had … as if someone had …

Without any warning, Teddy's stomach revolted and he bent double, his hands bracing themselves against the floor, his eyes clenched shut, while his stomach expelled all its contents, making his throat burn fiercely by the time he was done. The raw, sickly stench of his vomit caused an another rupture of stomach fluids.

What happened afterwards, was until this day still a blur to Teddy. Vaguely he could remember grabbing his phone and dialling Draco's number, needing the man's help, panicking so much that his mind was a complete blank; he didn't know what to do but call Draco. The blond had arrived quickly once he had gathered from Teddy's stuttered replies what had happened and with an ashen face, he had led the scared teenager to his room, while he called the ambulance. Once there, the doctors had managed to stabilize Harry's critical state though they had admitted afterwards that if Teddy had discovered him later, he probably wouldn't have survived it.

Police came and questioned him, but he couldn't tell much, having been in school the whole day. Harry had fallen into a coma and it was decided a few days later that Teddy would go stay with another family, because they couldn't leave him alone in the house and Draco wasn't an official guardian of him, no matter how much the man insisted Harry would have liked him to take care of his godson.

The whole time Harry had been lying in a coma, Teddy had been frantic with worry and his school results had suffered a while for that, though at the end of the year he had been able to get his grades up again.

He had been under the assumption that a burglar had stumbled upon Harry and had attacked him before fleeing. The door had been open after all, he had remembered a few days later.

The police, however, quickly destroyed that assumption when they came to him to speak with him a few weeks later.

Harry hadn't stumbled upon a burglar. In fact there never had been anything of that sort. Harry had been attacked by a customer because the man had wanted to go on, even though his time was up. Teddy had been confused at first; what kind of customer? Why would a customer be so angry that he would nearly kill his godfather? And why would that customer be in Harry's bedroom? That was a strange place for conducting business after all.

It had been his foster mother, Molly Weasley, who had carefully told him the truth. And that truth had shattered Teddy's view of his family life completely.

His godfather, the man who had been taking care of him when he was just a baby; had comforted him; played with him; bought stuff for him; whose hugs always had made feel Teddy protected, was nothing more than a prostitute. According to the police, the customer had gotten angry because Harry had refused his services and the man had snapped and had bashed his head against the floor and had attempted to strangle him before he fled.

He had been selling his body for years apparently and that was the reason why he was away so much, why he had been earning more money each year. Even Draco, who Teddy had believed was innocent in this, was nothing more than a regular customer.

The reason why almost nobody visited them was because Harry's former friends had known what he was doing and had dropped him, disgusted by his occupation.

Everything he had thought to know about Harry was false. His godfather had been lying to him for practically his whole life.

Teddy had been furious. He had escaped the house he was placed in and hid in the forest for hours while he tried to come to terms with everything. His godfather was a prostitute. He had been selling his body for years.

With each thought that surfaced in his mind, Teddy grew angrier until he was finally consumed by the anger. He felt betrayed by his godfather. Here he had been worried about him, when it was his own damn fault that he was attacked. If he had searched for a normal job, he wouldn't have been attacked. He wouldn't leave the house so much and wouldn't have to sell his body to greedy customers.

Teddy felt sick that the arms that had hugged him when he needed the comfort, were the same arms that had been wrapped around a different man almost every night.

Emotions that he would never thought to have associated with the thought of his godfather rose up; disgust and hate.

He couldn't believe his godfather had been selling his body for years … That was the reason why he left so many nights, why there were sometimes strange men in the house at night; that was why he couldn't attend those concerts, because he was too busy pleasuring some guy for money!

He couldn't understand how his godfather could lower himself to something as disgusting as that. Didn't he have any pride, any self-respect? How could he do this for so long?

When Teddy returned, he was informed by the police that the court had deemed his godfather unfit to raise him because of his profession which could pose a danger to the boy. To protect him, he was to stay with the foster family until he was of age, after which he could go his own way.

The court hadn't forbidden Harry to come into contact with him – he was allowed to do that, but he wasn't allowed to have him stay over or otherwise take care of him. Molly had assured Teddy that he could visit his godfather whenever he wanted, because she wasn't planning on separating their small family and had been shocked when the boy informed her in a clear voice that he never wanted to see his godfather ever again, and that he couldn't stand to even touch him again.

Molly had attempted to convince him to at least visit his godfather once to clear up the air between them, but Teddy had refused and repeated he never wanted any contact with Harry again.

It had been up to Molly and Arthur Weasley to inform Harry in the hospital of Teddy's decision. And even though they didn't approve of Harry's profession, they didn't feel like they had the right to judge him and felt sorry for him when they saw how hard he took the separation.

A month after Harry's incident, Teddy's belongings had been removed from his house and the Weasley family had gotten official guardianship over Teddy Lupin.

_End flashback_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Teddy sighed and rolled his neck, hissing when a cramp shot through his body. He hadn't thought of that particular memory since he had removed all his belongings from that house. While he had felt the occasional flash of sadness throughout the years, his anger and disgust had always won.

He had been content to pretend he never had known Harry Potter, but apparently he wasn't allowed to do that. He scowled. He still didn't understand why Harry had been brought to his hospital while there were others closer to his home.

He was loathe to admit it, but he did believe Harry when he had said it hadn't been his decision. His godfather had always been a pushover when it came to Draco. That was shown in the easiness with which he had allowed Draco to become a part of their lives. Oh, he hadn't liked it at first, that had been obvious, but he had never protested – or at least not when Teddy had been around to hear it.

Briefly he wondered how the hell Draco could stand the fact that his, well, what was Harry to him? Probably a partner or a convenient lay. Teddy snorted harshly. How could Draco stand the fact that his partner sold his body to various men?

With disdain Teddy noticed how his hand seemed to tremble when he put the cup in the sink. His meeting with Harry had thrown him off more than he had suspected.

He shook his head. It wasn't like he would meet him again anyway. He should just forget about it.

He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and then opened them again, going to his bedroom. His drive to work on his paper had vaporized after that surprise in the hospital. He just wanted to go to sleep now. Tomorrow he would have to get up early if he wanted to at least write another two pages for his paper.

Quickly he went through his nightly ritual – showering would be done in the morning – brushing his teeth, changing into his pyjamas and then, after locking the front door and making sure all the windows were closed, he slipped into his bed, moving around a bit until he found a good position to attempt to fall asleep in.

* * *

It was barely half an hour later when he was rudely taken aback from his doze by the shrill sound of his doorbell. His eyes shot wide open and his heart sped up in surprise. Who the hell was in front of his door at this late hour?

Not eager to leave the comfortable warmth of his bed, Teddy contemplated whether he should get up and go see who needed him so late or just ignore the person in front of his door and go back to sleep.

A second long, penetrating ring of the doorbell made the decision for him.

With a growl he threw back his covers and padded on bare feet to the front door, inwardly cursing whoever had decided to wake him up.

"Do you know how late it is?" Teddy snapped when he opened the door, not caring one wit whether it was his nice friendly neighbour from across the hallway or that annoying punk two doors further.

"I am aware of the late hour, but you were already gone by the time I arrived at the hospital."

Dread filling his stomach like lead, the young man looked up in too familiar grey eyes, as familiar to him as his godfather's eyes had been.

Draco Malfoy was standing in the hallway and his cold face told him he wasn't there for a pleasant visit.

He swallowed nervously, but squared his shoulders. "What are you doing here?"

Draco raised a blond eyebrow. "I should think Harry raised you better than this. Where are your manners, Teddy? It's common courtesy to invite someone in before starting a conversation."

An embarrassed flush appeared on Teddy's cheeks and he gritted his teeth in annoyance. "Fine, come in," he muttered reluctantly and stepped aside to let the older man inside his apartment.

He saw Draco looking around, taking in the space and he led him to the space acting as the living room.

"Again, what are you doing here? How did you find me?" Teddy asked impatiently and crossed his arms. He didn't offer the blond anything to drink and Draco didn't ask for anything.

Draco took a seat and looked at him calmly, putting the tips of his fingers against each other. "It wasn't easy, I have to give you that," he started. "It took me a few years to get to know your whereabouts. First I had to track down the family who had taken you in and then I had to discover to which university you had applied to." A faint smirk lit up his face. "It took me a while before I could find the right people who could tell me where you were living now."

"You mean, until you found people eager enough to accept a bribery," Teddy interrupted him with narrowed eyes.

Draco inclined his head, seemingly amused. "However you want to look at it," he replied in a dismissive tone. "And when I finally had found you, I had to search for a way to initiate the contact again."

"Didn't it ever occur to you that I moved away for a reason?" Teddy asked annoyed.

"Oh, it did occur to me," Draco answered nonchalantly. "Just as it occurred to me how incredibly stupid and very ungrateful you are."

"Excuse me?" Teddy's eyes lit up with fury. "I'm not ungrateful nor stupid!"

"Then care to tell me why you abandoned your godfather who devoted his whole life to take care of you?"

"You know god damn well why I didn't want to see him anymore!"

"No, not really. Your new family just informed us that you were experiencing some issues that left you unable to contact Harry," Draco spoke coolly. "Harry thought he would see you again after your 'issues' were worked out, but he realized after a while that you never intended to see him again. So care to enlighten me as to why you dropped your godfather when he needed you the most?"

"When he needed me the most? What about me? When was he ever there for me when I needed him? He fucking ignored me, because he was too busy spreading his legs for men who wanted nothing more than a cheap whore to fuck!" Teddy sneered and then immediately gasped when his right cheek exploded in pain. His hand shot up to grab his hot cheek and he stared shocked at the blond man in front of him who stared at him in cold fury.

"Don't ever call him that again," Draco hissed through clenched teeth and his grey eyes burned with anger. "You ungrateful bastard. Do you even realize how much Harry did for you? How much he gave up so that you could have a good life?"

"He should have gotten a real job if he wanted me to have a good life," Teddy snapped.

"And who do you think would hire a sixteen year old boy? Harry dropped out of school so that he could take care of you when your parents died. Nobody wants to hire someone who doesn't even have a degree of high school. Do you think Harry enjoyed his job?"

"It didn't seem like he tried to do anything else! He could have gone back to school to study and get a degree."

"He needed money to take care of you and the house! Do you realize how close you were to being homeless?" Draco snapped. "If Harry hadn't taken that job, you would have been homeless when you turned three. The bank was already waiting for the day they could take the house away. Your parents hadn't paid off the loan for the house. Your godfather not only had to pay the bills and pay the loan off, but he also had to take care of you and make sure he kept his promise to your parents. The promise of him taking care of you if they couldn't. You should be proud that your godfather managed to raise you with everything you needed instead of you landing in the orphanage."

"I should be proud of a godfather who sells his body?" Teddy asked incredulously. "What's there to be proud of? He took the easy way out! He never tried to find another job; he only sought a way to quick money."

Draco clenched his fist and took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, Teddy shivered from the icy gaze in which he found himself trapped in. "So help me, Teddy, if you don't fucking shut your mouth now, you're going to regret it. Do you think you can listen to me instead of being a judgemental asshole?"

Teddy glared but didn't dare to risk anything more. His jaw felt dislocated from the slap he had gotten, but aside from a heavy bruise forming, he would probably be fine. Still, it seemed a good idea to not provoke Draco more. He had already been surprised by the smack he had received.

"You never seemed to complain when Harry bought you the stuff you wanted," Draco sneered. "Do you think Harry enjoyed the thought of selling himself to other men? He was constantly afraid that something would happen to you or that Child Services would take you away. He already lost his family to an accident, he never knew his godfather, because he's in jail and he lost his friends, because he took on a job to survive and they didn't do shit to help him. You said he took the easy way out? If he had done that, you would have been dropped in an orphanage as soon as the funeral was over. In hindsight, that had probably been better considering how you turned out to be." He looked at him speculatively and Teddy bristled offended. "He endured bad customers who beat him up just so that you could have everything you wanted. He never once thought about himself, never once thought that he deserved something better. Everything he did, he did for you."

Teddy realized with a shock that Draco sounded pained, as if telling him all this hurt.

"Tell me something, Teddy." Draco suddenly looked at him with piercing eyes. "How did you get the money to enter this prestige university and this apartment?"

Teddy, confused with the way the conversation had suddenly taken a turn, stared at Draco befuddled. "Aunt Molly said that Child Services had created a fund for me in which they had put a certain amount of money and Aunt Molly and Uncle Arthur just put money on it every month until I graduated high school. It was a college fund or something like that." He shrugged, not remembering the details about the funding.

Draco snorted and shook his head. He stopped his pacing and leant against the wall, opposite from Teddy. "Are you seriously that dim-witted that you believed the story of the funding? Child Services don't start funds and the Weasley family is too poor to be able to afford giving you enough money to attend this university and have an apartment."

"Then who did that money come from, huh?" Teddy challenged irritated. What was Draco talking about? Why would Aunt Molly lie about the fund? Was he just trying to screw with his head? Was that his purpose of his visit?

"From Harry of course, you fool."

Silence reigned while Teddy tried to comprehend that little fact. "What?" he asked dumbly.

"You may have been able to drop your godfather easily, but Harry never stopped caring for you. He put most of the money he earned in the fund he had created for you. He had started that fund when you were seven years old. He made the Weasleys promise to never tell you the truth, because he knew you wouldn't take the money then," Draco told him in a neutral voice. "When he heard from one of the Weasleys that it was your dream to become a doctor and study at this university, he looked up the costs of your courses and then asked me if I couldn't find him a job so that he could earn more money and give you the chance to achieve your dream. Do you know how much it pained him to ask my help? He has always been stubborn and refused my help every time I offered it, but in the end he didn't have a choice and he gave up his pride to ask me for a job. And all that just for you. He gave up half of his life to take care of an ungrateful brat who dropped him when he needed him the most," he sneered and looked at Teddy venomously. "Tonight was the last night he went to a customer. Two hours after he left, I found your location and I got a call that he had been roughed up, because he had refused to give the man more than what he had paid for. Even when he was in pain, he didn't want me to drive to here, because he didn't want to inconvenience you."

Draco snorted and looked away. "I remember asking him why the hell he still cared for someone who had dumped him like he was filth and you know what he answered?"

Teddy looked down, practically hearing his blood rushing through his veins.

"Do you know what he answered?"

Hesitatingly he shook his head and he bit his lip.

"He answered that he would never stop loving his godson even if that boy had abandoned him. He practically blamed himself for you running out on him."

Teddy clenched his fists and he felt his eyes sting. He hadn't known all this. He had assumed that Harry had refused to take a normal job and that he had enjoyed selling his body to other men. And then to hear that he had still saved up money for Teddy, even after he had walked out on him … That he had still wanted to make sure Teddy could achieve his dreams, even after being told he wasn't wanted anymore …

"I drove him to this hospital, because I thought you had gotten mature over the years and were willing to at least talk to him and give him a chance to explain – though he shouldn't have to explain anything," Draco muttered the last part underneath his breath. "I guess I was wrong. I see I wasted my time in believing you were worth the effort."

He grabbed his jacket and turned around, intent on leaving the room.

Teddy shot up and stared at Draco's back. "Wait!" he called out in an impulse and felt his heart racing.

"What?"

"Why are you so concerned with what my godfather does?"

It had been a question that had haunted him ever since he had met this peculiar guy. Why would a businessman care what a prostitute did with his life? Why would he want to track down the godson of someone he visited occasionally to find some relief?

"Because I love him." Grey eyes pierced into his and he stiffened in shock. "Because I care what happens to him. Because I want to see him happy." He nodded to something he had left on the coffee table. "That's the address of the hotel we're currently residing in. Don't bother coming if you can't act mature. In fact, if you're not planning on reconciling with your godfather, don't bother coming at all. If you hurt him once more, I'll make sure you regret that for the rest of your life. Godson or not, I won't allow you to hurt Harry."

Threat hanging in the air, he finally left, the door closing behind him with a soft click.

Teddy was left standing there with a whirlwind of emotions wreaking havoc in his mind and the sense of being lost.

* * *

" _So even though I didn't come from your belly, you still love me?" Big teary eyes stared sadly at the man in front of him._

" _Of course I'll always love you. No matter what you do, no matter what you'll say, I will always love you. Never doubt that." Strong arms came around him to cuddle him and envelop him in protective warmth._

_His own short, weak arms came around a slender neck and he pushed his face against a sweater clad shoulder. "I'll always love you too, Uncle. No matter what happens," he swore._

" _No matter what happens, huh?" A faint smile. "That's good to hear."_

* * *

"When are we leaving?" the dark haired man asked curiously. He sat cross legged on the bed, watching his lover pacing around while pulling on his clothes.

"In an hour, I need to make a few phone calls."

Just then the doorbell rang and Harry looked up curiously.

"Could you get that?" Grey eyes looked at him pleadingly when his phone rang.

He nodded and stood up. Warily he went to the front door and opened the door carefully. When he saw who stood in the hallway, he froze.

A nervous smile was placed on a face he thought he would never see again after last night. "Hey, uncle. Do you have time to talk?" Sneaker clad feet shuffled nervously on the dark blue carpet.

"Of course. Always," he smiled tentatively and the smile on the young man's face grew a bit wider.

Behind the two men, the blond smirked victoriously.


End file.
